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December 31, 2010

ANN's Annual Review Of The Year That Was: Our Treasured Friends
Who Have Gone West in 2010

Aero-News pays tribute to the following aviators -- in body and
in spirit -- who slipped the surly bonds of Earth in 2010 -- some
of whom were close friends, and all others our friends in spirit --
and extends our sincere sympathies to their families, and to any of
our readers who also lost a loved one last year...

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Looking Back At The
First PiperSport Delivery

Lakeland kicks off the “spring season” for many
in the general aviation community, and Piper paved the way for the
new season with the first delivery of the PiperSport; three
co-owners took the keys for Piper’s new entry into the light
sport aircraft market. The three co-owners, hailing from
Miami, Florida, share more than their enthusiasm for the PiperSport
in common: all three are extremely experienced pilots.

On November 2nd, 1929, 117 American female pilots gathered at
Curtiss Field in Valley Stream, Long Island, New York; their goal
was simple: to create an organization dedicated to the
advancement of aviation. Three years later, Amelia Earhart
became the first president of the “Ninety-Nines, Inc.,”
named for the 99 charter members of the first organization composed
entirely of licensed female pilots. Today, the Ninety-Nines
has over 5,500 members throughout the world.

Elbit Systems Completes Acquisition Of M7 Aerospace

Elbit Systems of America (ESA), the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary
of Israel-based Elbit Systems, acquired 100% of M7 Aerospace LP (M7
Aerospace) in a $85 million all cash transaction earlier this
month.

21 Recommendations Made Based On 2008 S-61N Accident

The NTSB wants the FAA and U.S. Forest Service to intensify
their oversight of Part 135 operators who operate their helicopters
and airplanes as public aircraft, it said in recommendations based
on a 2008 Carson Helicopters S-61N crash that killed seven and
injured four others.

Fleet service workers at Continental Airlines have ratified
their first contract. The agreement, which covers about 7,600
workers, was ratified by an 84-16 percent margin and goes into
effect retroactively to July 1, 2010.

"The X-rays showed four
additional small cracks on three stringers on the opposite side of
the tank from Discovery, and managers elected to repair those
cracks in a similar fashion to repairs made on cracks discovered
after the Nov. 5 launch attempt. That work is estimated to take
2–3 days. Any further work will be evaluated thoroughly early
next week after additional data is reviewed. The hardware is in
place to perform any modification. That work would be performed
inside the VAB."
Source: From the Thursday status update
furnished to Space Shuttle program managers.